What if you could return to 1976 and assemble your own ten-track vinyl compilation from the music that shaped you?
That was the idea behind my latest conversation with Greg Hart, guitarist and songwriter with Cats in Space. Rather than asking Greg to rank his favourite songs from ten to one, I invited him to imagine that he was sequencing a vinyl album: five tracks on side one, five on side two, with careful thought given to the opening song, the closing track and those unexpected choices that make a compilation truly personal.
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For Greg, 1976 is much more than another year in music. It represents a moment when rock, pop, soul and disco existed side by side—and when the albums he discovered began to shape the musician and songwriter he would become.
“The ’70s were the biggest part for me,” Greg explained. “They were very formative years that were so incredibly important to how you map your life out.”
He also admitted that he was probably “the most depressed man on Earth” on 31 December 1979 because he simply did not want the decade to end.
Side One
1. Rainbow – Tarot Woman
There could only be one opening track.
Greg was just 13 when he first heard Rainbow Rising, having bought the album without really knowing what to expect. He knew Cozy Powell was the drummer, but knew virtually nothing about Ronnie James Dio, Ritchie Blackmore or the history surrounding the band.
Then he lowered the needle and heard Tony Carey’s extraordinary Moog introduction to “Tarot Woman”.
“It was a game changer,” Greg recalled. “You instantly grew up into another area.”
Before Rainbow, Greg’s world had largely revolved around bands such as Slade, Sweet, Mud and Hello. Hearing Risingfelt like stepping into something heavier, more dramatic and altogether more grown-up. Even the structure of the album—with only “Stargazer” and “A Light in the Black” occupying side two—felt serious and mysterious.
As an opening track, “Tarot Woman” remains almost impossible to beat.
2. 10cc – I’m Mandy Fly Me
Greg’s second selection reveals one of the most important influences on the music of Cats in Space.
“I’m Mandy Fly Me”, from 10cc’s How Dare You!, is progressive pop at its most imaginative: a six-minute song filled with intricate arrangements, layered acoustic guitars, beautiful harmonies and unexpected changes.
“It’s an absolute blueprint for Cats in Space,” Greg told me. “If you’re going to do something, go to the well of ‘I’m Mandy Fly Me’, because you’ll find so much stuff in there you can get influenced by.”
That influence can be heard particularly clearly in the introduction to “Bootleg Bandoleros” from Kickstart the Sun. Greg used numerous acoustic guitar overdubs and a Nashville-tuned guitar to create the kind of rich, multi-layered sound he had admired in 10cc.
It is a perfect example of how the records in this imaginary compilation became part of Greg’s own musical DNA.
3. Status Quo – Mystery Song
From the complex arrangements of 10cc, the album moves into the irresistible drive of Status Quo.
Greg has enormous admiration for the classic Quo line-up and especially Rick Parfitt, whom he regards as one of the greatest rhythm guitarists in rock.
“Mystery Song”, from Blue for You, was chosen largely because of its glorious guitar sound and the effect it had on Greg and his Quo-loving schoolfriend Andy.
The influence has now come full circle because, as Greg revealed, the forthcoming Cats in Space album contains a deliberate nod to Status Quo. The new line-up enjoyed recording that section so much that the band decided the song had to become part of their live show.
4. Kiss – Shout It Out Loud
Greg could not compile an album celebrating 1976 without including something from Destroyer.
Although “Detroit Rock City” was the first Kiss song he heard, “Shout It Out Loud” has grown in stature for him over the years. It captures everything he loves about Kiss as a live band while demonstrating how much can be achieved in less than three minutes.
Greg described it as the essence of what pop-rock should be: a huge chorus, a Motown influence, Bob Ezrin’s production and all the larger-than-life excitement associated with Kiss.
There are no wasted moments. It is simply a brilliantly constructed rock song.
5. The Four Seasons – Who Loves You
The final track on side one is perhaps the first genuine surprise.
Greg makes it clear, however, that this is not a guilty pleasure. In fact, he does not believe in guilty pleasures.
The Four Seasons enjoyed an extraordinary resurgence during the mid-1970s with songs including “December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)”, “Silver Star”, “The Night” and “Who Loves You”.
Greg was particularly drawn to the vocal arrangements, bass line and phased hi-hat sound of “Who Loves You”. That style of vocal interplay became an influence on his work with Mick Wilson, particularly on “Unicorn” from the Cats in Space album Day Trip to Narnia.
“Why can’t that be a rock song?” Greg asked. It is a question that gets right to the heart of Cats in Space: taking influences from classic pop and weaving them into something bigger, heavier and more theatrical.
Side Two
1. Thin Lizzy – The Boys Are Back in Town
How do you begin side two after closing side one with the Four Seasons? You bring out Thin Lizzy.
For Greg, “The Boys Are Back in Town” is one of the greatest rock songs ever written.
“There was a swagger and a coolness about that song,” he said. “The storytelling—and Phil—was just untouchable.”
Greg’s love of Phil Lynott’s storytelling also helps explain why the song connects so strongly with the world of Cats in Space. Many Cats songs contain characters and stories that invite the listener to step inside them, just as Lynott could place us alongside the boys at Dino’s Bar and Grill.
The influence of Thin Lizzy will also be prominent on the new Cats in Space album, particularly through the addition of guitarist Sam Wood.
2. The Real Thing – You to Me Are Everything
Side two then takes a wonderfully unexpected turn.
“You to Me Are Everything” by The Real Thing is, in Greg’s words, “the perfect pop song”. It has a simple but beautifully effective chord sequence, memorable harmonies, an irresistible chorus and the classic key change.
Cats in Space have even performed it during their acoustic shows, where Greg found that the song immediately connected with the audience. Beneath many a committed rock fan, there is still someone who remembers hearing records like this at a school disco.
Once again, this is no guilty pleasure. It is simply great British pop music.
3. The Walker Brothers – No Regrets
“No Regrets” brings a more melancholy atmosphere to side two.
Originally written and recorded by Tom Rush, the song became a UK hit for the Walker Brothers in 1976. Greg remembers being captivated by the way the recording gradually builds, from its emotional vocal to its increasingly active bass line and climactic guitar solo.
The song also has an important Cats in Space connection. The band recorded its own version and performed it during some of their earliest concerts, allowing Greg the opportunity to step forward with an extended guitar solo.
The Cats recording is a wonderful interpretation, with Damian Edwards delivering an exceptional lead vocal.
4. Peter Frampton – Something’s Happening
Any track from Frampton Comes Alive! could potentially have occupied this position.
Greg considered “Show Me the Way”, “Baby, I Love Your Way” and “Do You Feel Like We Do”, but eventually selected “Something’s Happening”.
Its opening immediately transports him back to the long, hot summer of 1976. There is a joy and sense of anticipation to the performance that captures Peter Frampton at the height of his powers.
For so many music fans, Frampton Comes Alive! was one of those rare albums that seemed to be everywhere. Hearing it today does not simply recall the music—it recalls the weather, the clothes and the feeling of being there.
5. John Miles – Music
There could be no other closing track.
Greg considers John Miles to be one of the most underrated singers, musicians and guitarists of his generation. The first four John Miles albums, he argues, are virtually perfect.
“Music” transcends the conventional idea of a pop single. It moves through contrasting sections and grows into something orchestral, symphonic and profoundly emotional. Like “I’m Mandy Fly Me”, it takes the listener on a complete journey.
The song also expresses something that lies at the heart of Now Spinning Magazine and the community around it: the importance of music in our lives.
For Greg Hart and Cats in Space, music is not simply a product. It is something made by people who genuinely love and understand its power.
Greg Hart’s complete 1976 compilation
Side One
- Rainbow – “Tarot Woman”
- 10cc – “I’m Mandy Fly Me”
- Status Quo – “Mystery Song”
- Kiss – “Shout It Out Loud”
- The Four Seasons – “Who Loves You”
Side Two
- Thin Lizzy – “The Boys Are Back in Town”
- The Real Thing – “You to Me Are Everything”
- The Walker Brothers – “No Regrets”
- Peter Frampton – “Something’s Happening”
- John Miles – “Music”
Greg also revealed a wonderfully eclectic collection of songs that narrowly missed the final album. These included “More, More, More” by the Andrea True Connection, “I Wanna Stay with You” by Gallagher and Lyle, “Howzat” by Sherbet, “Silly Love Songs” by Wings, “If You Leave Me Now” by Chicago, “Single Bed” by Fox, “Livin’ Thing” by Electric Light Orchestra and Leo Sayer’s “You Make Me Feel Like Dancing”.
It proves just how broad Greg’s musical tastes are—and why Cats in Space can combine progressive rock, glam, pop, soul, disco and melodic hard rock without any of it feeling out of place.
A “big metallic hug” from Cats in Space
Greg also shared some tantalising information about the forthcoming Cats in Space album, the first to feature the new line-up with Chris Childs and Sam Wood.
He described it as the best and biggest album the band have made, with side one designed to rock hard while side two contains no fewer than five epics.
“Strap yourselves in, people,” he warned. “Side two is all epics—not one, but five.”
The structure was partly inspired by the contrasting sides of Queen II. The songs are linked by themes reflecting the uncertainty of the modern world and the effect it can have on our mental wellbeing. Greg described the resulting music as a “big metallic hug”: powerful and uplifting, but still unmistakably Cats in Space.
Sam Wood’s love of Thin Lizzy, Mick Ronson, Gibson guitars and melodic twin-guitar arrangements has encouraged Greg to push the guitar work further than before. Rather than restricting themselves to short solos, Greg and Sam have been given room to stretch out across the songs.
“You’ll hear the guitars absolutely take your face off,” Greg promised, adding the important qualification: “but in a really nice, Cats in Space type of way.”
Greg also revealed the title “Mr Showbiz”, a song which continues the autobiographical story begun in “I Fell Out of Love with Rock ’n’ Roll”. This second chapter looks back at the period before Cats in Space, with the eventual third part of the story set to explore the formation of the band and the creation of Too Many Gods.
Perhaps most refreshing of all is the planned physical release. Greg wants the album to be presented in the way records were sold in 1976: one beautifully packaged black-vinyl edition rather than numerous coloured variants. A CD edition is also planned, with two additional tracks, but the focus remains firmly on the central ten-song album.
“Here’s my new album. That’s it,” Greg said. “That’s how it used to be. Do you remember when you did that?”
It feels entirely appropriate that a conversation celebrating the music of 1976 should lead us towards a new Cats in Space album being approached with exactly that same philosophy: ten songs, two sides, striking artwork and music created from the heart.
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Phil Aston | Now Spinning Magazine
